Honor System Stands - Inspiration?

Good Morning!

I'm starting to realize, quickly, that chickens can lay a lot of eggs in a small amount of time. I am planning on 'dealing' with this 'issue' by making an honor system stand by the road to be able to sell my excess to those who might want something fresher than they can get in the local grocery store. I however am stumped on where to even begin because there are a lot of designs both in dimensional lumber and round lumber.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Permies video on the subject which started all the fun.



Do you have a farm stand? Could you maybe share a few pictures and perhaps inspire my next project?

Thank you all.

Hi Tim,

It has been a long time since I have sold vegetables,  I did have the opportunity to eat at Lynn’s in Philadelphia, Mississippi. It was a self serve restaurant. The customer paid by dropping money in a bucket by the door.   For that matter, one of my hay suppliers has a similar system.

Also check out this fantastic thread on roaside stands. Tons of inspiring photos!

https://permies.com/t/166328/Cool-Roadside-Stands

We also had a thread discussing simple ways to encourage honesty at honour stands, and creative payment methods.

https://permies.com/t/2925/farm-store-honor-system

Somewhere else, I think I posted research that said psychologically, if there are "eyes" as part of the artwork, people subconsciously feel someone is watching and they are less inclined to abscond without paying. (Mirrors were also suggested.)

We have found that by having the fridge closer to the house, theft tends to be lower. We use an old fridge to sell our eggs out of, and Hubby messed with the light electronics and a doorbell gizmo, so the house "ding dongs" when someone opens the fridge door. This helps, but also is a constant interrupt, and only works when we're in the area.

We have sold eggs at times at a friend's house. There's a significant walk from the egg stand there and the house and a lot more money/eggs disappear there. However, we'd monitor the situation, and if a problem arose, we'd stop selling there to limit our losses.

In both cases, we have signs that tell if there is stock or not, so people don't waste their time stopping if the eggs are sold out. People who took the last dozen were often on the ball enough to flip the sign!

I hadn't heard of the "eye" or "mirror" trick, but I think we should try that!

Can’t wait to see what you devise!

There is an egg stand near my house. The sellers have unobstructed view from their house to the egg box. In the summer they put frozen water jugs in the little wood box where they place the eggs.

These are my ideas concerning self service opportunities:

I think it would be possible to put a video camera at your farmstand. I think the closer to the house, the better. I think there will always be some people who wrestle with temptation and underpay, or don’t pay at all. The video security system would allow you some ideas about who the culprits might be.  Often times it is someone in your neighborhood, someone who knows you!  I think it’s possible that you will develop an idea of who is cheating you. And depending on your relationship with that person, you might be able to point out to them that every time they visit the stand your money comes up short.  And allow them to totally deny responsibility.

I think currently the self-service honor system  is an iffy thing, but that the level of loss to thieving is partly a reflection of where our culture is in things like honesty.  Where I live, the town is corrupt,  and people accept it.  They don’t pass a school bond though the school roof leaks….. I think they don’t pass the school bond because they know there will be cost over runs, the contracts will be awarded to the insider group in cahoots with local power, because they believe that any time there are large amounts of money changing hands, it’s just human nature for people to get what they can.  And in the end, the new school will be an expensive boondoggle, and no better than the current school.  They’re probably right about the school situation.  They know themselves and their townspeople.


About what constitutes human nature, I disagree.  Strenuously!  I believe human nature is what we as collectives imagine it to be (and require of ourselves and others).

I think that we (USA) are currently pretty bad in that respect and I hope this is about as low as it goes!

As for building a better world, I think  creating these opportunities for honesty and integrity are an important and strong message. However, I don’t want to be seen as encouraging people to allow themselves to be victimized. Don’t let people take more than you can afford to lose!

Personally, I LOVE self service produce stands.  Good luck!

Up here in the Berkshires of western MA, we are very much in the country. There are several mom and pop farmstands and eggstands around that actually sell eggs for less than what one would find in some of the bigger stores, and veggies often times comes with dirt (I think that is free of charge). Once experiencing a fresh egg, going back to the 'old stuff' seems crazy. That being said, many of the little stands are on the honor system. You may have some people that take advantage, but most are very honest. I've seen 'stands' that are just coolers with a sign by the road, old refrigerators on someone's porch, or could be something fancier if you wanted it to. If you do not feel comfortable having an honor system, there might be some way to advertise in a local paper you have extra eggs, and you can make contact with that person. We have such a thing here. I've been looking into freezing eggs when overloaded. Good luck on your adventure!

as an old bee keeper, many fellow beekeepers do as shown in video -  one has an open cash box - yes he goes out at least once a day, he says if his neighbors take some they must need it! very nice and decent fellow.

We have a local stand nearby who has placed their stand near their front porch, it has a CCTV out of sight with a wall plant around it so is hard to see.

They have put a cut slot in a strong home welded tin with a padlocked lid. Apart from people short changing, you can see if they put anything in the tin or not.

They said most people are honest and happy to be able to get access to fresh items. I think encouraging honesty - and eating local - is worth it if you can do this, just only put out a few items at a time so any losses are covered for yourself.

I'm still in the early planning stages, I am definitely seeing the benefit of having some kind of theft deterrent. One of the things I'm trying to figure out is the scale of the stand in order to use it for eggs, produce, flowers but without it becoming some giant monstrosity.

I appreciate all the links and feedback, keep it coming.

I would be inclined to make the whole enterprise 'pay what you can' and then list what the local grocer is charging for an inferior version of what I'm selling. I'd do that to avoid ever feeling ripped off. I could just assume that whoever took whatever -- they paid what they could and if it's less than I would have, it's only because I have more disposable income. I make a little money, and I feel good about paying it forward instead of feeling like I'm being ripped off. (I also feel good about sharing my garden with bunnies, birds and deer as long as they leave me half.)

It's also great to include your Paypal or Venmo or Zelle (or whatever the hell kids are using these days) address to facilitate people who want to pay with their phone. And one of the stands in that video at the top had an accounting system where people could prepay in a block and then debit against that by writing their purchases in a notebook. That's pretty slick.

Hi Christopher,

I have seen a similar strategy used in a used goods store in Atlanta.   It had a sign that said something like, “Please do not shoplift.  If you need something you cannot afford, contact the manager.”   I made a point of contacting the manager.  Shoplifting had virtually been eliminated, and only two people sought out free clothing.  Both were in obvious need and provided the clothes.

I wanted to take a in for a short reply to Tim's asking about a set up and not having it being too much. Are you looking to leave the structure out or torn down when the season is over with? Around here, I've seen all kinds of things being used; boards and cinder blocks work well and could be taken apart easily when not in use. Old bookcases, bakers racks, even old dressers (the dresser was pretty neat. It was devised to hold frozen jugs of water on the bottom with eggs and other things on top that needed to stay cold). An old file cabinet could work, especially if you needed to keep things cool. One farmer here built shelving from old boards and then got a large tarp to cover in case of rain, etc. If you really wanted to get fancy you could put veggies in old laundry baskets and display them. The sky is the limit with your imagination. The nearest town where I live is about 50 miles away. During the summer many people will put things on the side of the road they are no longer using for free. I found a headboard I will use for a garden door, and a lot of old tables that I will use to put container gardens on. I'm rambling now. Good luck again.

Someone already added the link to the pictures thread.

1. make it cute and beautiful so people smile - spreading happiness is as important as spreading good food IMO
2. maybe put a chalkboard up so people can leave messages to each other - building community is as important as building better nutrition IMO
3. have a "Recipe of the week" - encourage people to come back to find out what's on the menu this week which hopefully focuses on something there's a bumper crop of!

Gosh, I’m posting frequently.

Must be displacement activity with what needs doing outside, haha.

Honor or honour stands: I have started my Fridgebook at the bottom of my lane with books and pirated dvds, sorry, they are scarecrows, honestly and notice boards for small adds. The pens are still there.

I had a basket with medlars available on my terrace one year.
I caught a Welsh cob self serving, yes a horse. I have proof, a photo. Uploading is difficult before you ask.

So I have a query, it’s all very well asking people to contribute, but what about eggs and ferrets and rats, etc.
Do they know it’s an honour system?

And of course there is scrumping, technical term for harvesting your neighbours’ produce forgetting to ask their opinion.
As a writer said, above somewhere, if people take, their need might be great.
Others might even take your produce to market. It happens. Around here, fields of potato have gone astray and woodpiles.
So there you go, it’s all learning, n’est ce pas?

Let us continue with honour and help yourself and a bit of love and peace,
Blessings too
M-H

To MH: I love the picture you described of the horse! I have two farm neighbors nearby. One has cows (BIG cows) and the other a small garden where he puts produce out on the honor system. One day I was driving by and a big bull had gotten out and had meandered next door to the gardeners produce and was sampling everything in site including Halloween decorations (the stand was near the road). The veg farmer wasn't home. I stopped to try to get the bull back down to the pasture, but he was having none of it, instead wanting to give me big sloppy kisses and drooled in my hair, and still keep sampling his fare. Anyway, I guess what I want to say is that the honor system can be hit or miss. Obviously, we can't plan for every single thing that may/not come along but hope for the best. My elderly neighbor was worried about a stray cat that had been coming around, so I put food and water out for it only to attract a family of opossums that decided to nest in a dog carrier on the porch. I've enjoyed this discussion very much and wish everyone the best of luck  

Regarding payment, "exact change" is a quandary.

I wonder if a dual system with a pretty secure slot-fed cash box plus an open "change maker" bin with might work. Would this reduce the overall exposure to theft, and yet encourage purchases?

Alternatively, the "change" could be a fixed number of poker chips with your brand burnt into them. These would be accepted as payment for somebody who overpaid last time. It would be pretty to track if people are taking and using these fairly, and give some hints about repeat customers.

Hubby's a computer geek and he *loves* Excel. He's made up a spread sheet for his regular egg customers and many pay in advance. We put their name on the end of the egg carton, and they just pick it up on their assigned day. Not exactly like a CSA "box" system, but a close relative. You have to not mind computer paperwork!

We also have walk-in customers. We keep $6 change in a pot in the fridge: 2x toonies, 1x loonie, 4x quarters, which covers the most likely customer needs.

We also leave small envelopes in the fridge and regular people can put their money in there. That way the money isn't in plain sight, but it also doesn't take up space that a lock box would.

However, I do wish he'd fix his welder and make a sturdy lock box for a friend of ours. We sometimes put surplus eggs in his fridge and theft in that area has been much greater. It's near an Elementary School and a Corner Store and I suspect the temptation is just too great.

I am being buried under both chicken & duck eggs. I can't do such a stand here, because there's a group down the road who... well, I'll just say there would be no cash for me, or anything else for anyone else. What I do is barter with, or gift them - as well as homemade pickles, relishes, jams, and soon, fresh baked bread,  and hopefully someday, fresh fruits and veggies. It's gone a LONG way toward building good will, in our little community. There were, before we moved here, a few people on this road, who were already working in that direction; shoveling, mowing, and doing other miscellaneous work, for some of the elderly, or folks who were living with physical limitations, in addition to buying gravel and spreading it on our (private) road & trimming the trees back, along it. Now, food and other items, like firewood, or splitting & stacking it have been added to the community offerings. It's not terribly unusual(though always a pleasant surprise) to wake up, or come home to a neighbor gifting us with a well stacked face cord of firewood, from their prunings &/or road maintenance trimmings! It's incredible, and we've bartered our stuff for fresh caught fish(and that neighbor even cleans & filets it!), labor.

Not really helpful for an actual stand, but I thought it might be a good option for so many others like me, for whom the cons would seriously overbalance the pros, in setting up & maintaining an actual stand (which I'd also love to do!)

Edited to add: We also swap the rare critter care, in case someone needs to take a trip. That one is HUGE, and I can't figure out how I could have forgotten it!

Carla, You guys sound like a real homesteading community. In this day and age, there seems to be so little of helping out neighbors when needed or not. When I moved here I was told by an old timer that it took '5 years for you to become part of the community.' Well, that's not happening. I'm a southern gal, and we talk to everyone!

I think this is the coolest idea ever.  The first one I ever saw was when we moved here to the edge of our little city, when one is almost to the river overlook one comes upon a cute littlemini-house-looking thing from the road with a sign, and then when one walks around to the other side, the side facing away from the road one realizes its a little stand with cut flowers and succulents in little pots, and one drops money or pays with their phone with the promo code.  Its been here consistantly so it must be working for those who own it.  

The thing I love about it is getting away with breaking zoning rules and having an unlicensed side hustle for farm products.  I wonder if someone could get away with this closer into town or would neighbours squeal and ruin it.  Little free libraries are allowed in cities, but there is no money exchanging hands, so that's probably why it is allowed in the middle of town.  I think if I ran a city I'd make mini stands legal everywhere as long as they met size requirements.

I can not speak to other locales, but where I live it is fascinating to see all the different KINDS of stands directly in the walkable village. The thing that fascinates me is that the majority of these stands are not for eggs or vegetables... they are for cut flowers! I know of three different stands that offer flower arrangements (usually in a mason jar) that people frequently purchase and eventually return the jar in the future to be re-used. The flowers NEVER last, someone is always picking them up. Makes you realize there are many different ways to create a side hustle.

Different communities have different rules, and enforcement is often "complaints" driven - if a neighbour decides they don't like it, it will have to leave, unless you can convince council that it deserves some sort of exemption.

That said, a little reminder that if you're getting money for the produce, that is "income". If it cost you money (and you kept the receipts) to build the stand, the "income" won't likely get you into trouble until the stand is paid for. However, after that, most countries expect you to declare that income on your taxes. Hubby does that for our egg business every year, filling out a special form so that legitimate expenses are deducted from the income. Technically, even waiting until the stand is covered, rather than amortizing the stand over several years, could get you in trouble in some countries, but in BC, Canada, on an Island where they've publicized widely that we have food insecurity, they would probably simply expect you to fix and resubmit your taxes, without actually fining you, if you are simply polite and plead ignorance. Technically, ignorance isn't considered a valid excuse, but coupled with politeness, it will likely get you a one-time pass.

However, this is the benefit of making a stand look compatible with the neighbourhood, pleasant to look at, and be genuinely selling products produced on the land.  Having a list of "happy customers" to balance one person who decides their dog doesn't like the stand, would be a good idea too!

I took a couple of pictures of the two honesty stalls I pass on my way down to the shop. Our climate is pretty mild, so refrigeration is not required (eggs shouldn't be refrigerated in UK before sale anyhow).
The first is a simple box with a lift up lid for eggs. The second is a little 'sentry box' where Naomi sells her lovely jams and chutneys from. The door for weather protection against rain and wind is essential, and the sentry box is strapped back to the fence, which has made it just off vertical.

I found this video from No-Till Growers that shows Broken Spoke Farm's stand and how their system works.

So a soft-serve machine and being close to the city is their winning formula. That's clever.

Just a couple shots from an honor-system farm store we visited yesterday at an alpaca farm:

Someone on our "neighbors" Facebook group (covering an area about 10x20 miles) just posted these with an announcement that they're selling eggs, maple syrup, and some kind of scrubbies. I haven't been to this one but I figured it wouldn't hurt to have more pictures in the thread...

Christopher Weeks wrote:Someone on our "neighbors" Facebook group (covering an area about 10x20 miles) just posted these with an announcement that they're selling eggs, maple syrup, and some kind of scrubbies. I haven't been to this one but I figured it wouldn't hurt to have more pictures in the thread...

I would love to know if the red chicken on the front is a publicly available stencil? That's really cute!

Christopher, you are amazing.

I've been having... builders block? Kind of like writers block but I just can't seem to put together a rough idea of how I want the build to even happen.

My biggest want is for an egg cooler to be 'sunk' in.

My partners biggest want is for it possibly to be able to be relocated in the future so no permanent foundation (Skids?)

Your photo has inspired me. I need to look into stencils too!

Jay Angler wrote:I would love to know if the red chicken on the front is a publicly available stencil? That's really cute!

I asked her! She used a Cricut (which I've seen in craft stores, but don't know the details of how they work) and it's a purchased pattern. She didn't say this but I'm thinking she cut it out of decal stock or something and then stuck it on?

Christopher Weeks wrote: I asked her! She used a Cricut (which I've seen in craft stores, but don't know the details of how they work) and it's a purchased pattern. She didn't say this but I'm thinking she cut it out of decal stock or something and then stuck it on?

Thanks Christopher. I'm going to have to look up what a "cricut" is?

Another pic from elsewhere on the net...